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Muncaster Castle near Ravenglass, Lake District, Cumbria

Some background information

Muncaster Castle is located on the right bank of the River Esk, about a mile south of the west-coastal town of Ravenglass. The estate is situated in sparsely populated and scenic countryside between the Irish Sea and Hardknott Pass, near England's tallest mountain, Scafell Pike. It is still owned by the noble Pennington family, who has lived there for at least 800 years.

In 1208 Muncaster estate was granted to Alan de Penitone. The oldest parts of the castle include the great hall and the 14th century pele tower, a type of watch-tower fortification unique to the English-Scottish border region, which were erected by wealthy English families to protect themselves and their estates against Scottish invaders.

It is suspected that the site of the castle lies on foundations dating to the Roman era, which may relate to the nearby Roman fort of Glannoventa at Ravenglass. An indication for this suspicion is the name "Muncaster", which contains the Latin word "castra", meaning "encampment" or "fort".

After the battle of Towton in 1461, Henry VI fled to Muncaster Castle where Sir John Pennington sheltered him. Henry gave Sir John a glass drinking bowl with a prayer that they might prosper for as long as the glass remained unbroken. The glass is known as "The Luck of Muncaster" and remains unbroken to this day.

Over the course of the centuries Muncaster Castle was extended and enlarged on a number of occasions. Recent historical research has uncovered records which indicate that in 1678 the castle had 14 chimneys, while a document relating to payment of window tax in 1746 recorded that it had 103 windows as well as 55 rooms and corridors at that date.

However, by the time of the ownership of Sir Joseph Pennington in the 1770s, the castle had fallen into serious decay. His son, Sir John Pennington, arriving to live at the castle after his wedding in 1778, wrote with despair of how a part of the building collapsed even as he was inspecting it. The preservation of the castle to this day is due to the efforts of Sir John Pennington to rebuild and restore it, which costed him some six thousand pounds, an enormous sum of money in the late 18th century.

In August 2005 an archaeological investigation was conducted in the castle grounds and an architectural heritage peport was produced. This investigation revealed that the castle's north tower was constructed in the 1830s. Previous literature on the north tower mistakenly attributed its construction to the architect Anthony Salvin, who was engaged to refurbish the castle by the fourth Lord Muncaster in 1862. The north tower complements the pele tower to provide a symmetry to the castle's appearance.

Muncaster Castle estate in the early 20th century was around 23,000 acres (93 km?) in size. Today the castle is surrounded by "only" 77 acres (310,000 m?) of woodland gardens in a park of some 1,800 acres (7.3 km?). The gardens contain many rhododendrons, camellias and azaleas, and the castle's Plant Centre offers the largest collection of rhododendrons in the north of England.

In common with many such ancient estates in the British Isles Muncaster Castle is open to the public. But unfortunately visitors are not allowed to photograph the interiors. The castle also operates as a site where civil weddings may be held, has bookable accommodation for 24 guests, shows bird of prey demonstrations and is the location of the headquarters of the World Owl Trust, a registered UK charity dedicated to the preservation of owls and their habitats.

Muncaster Castle and its hauntings:

Muncaster Castle has acquired a reputation for being one of the most haunted castles in England, perhaps even the most haunted one. It only competes with Hampton Court Palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and Chillingham Castle in Northhumberland, which can come up with a similar number of hauntings.

The two most famous ghosts of Muncaster are the ones of Thomas Skelton, reputedly the last court jester in English history, and Mary Bragg, a local girl who was most likely murdered on the castle grounds by two young men in the 19th century after they'd kidnapped her on behalf of her rival in love. But let’s take one thing at a time:

Tom Fool:
At the end of the 16th century Thomas Skelton, better known as Tom Fool, acted as as jester on Muncaster Castle. Although a friend of William Shakespeare, he was by all accounts a dark character responsible for a number of deaths during his time at Muncaster. One of his ideas of a "joke" was directing anyone asking him for directions to Ravenglass towards the hidden quicksand and bog marsh by the River Esk rather than the ford – some realised in time, many did not and were never seen again.
Despite Thomas Skelton being a jester, the local carpenter certainly wasn't laughing

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